Locked Out
by Jaime L. Hatheway
Summary: All the crew are hunkered down for the night. Kaylee's been tinkering with the new locking mechanisms on Serenity and locked Jayne out of his quarters again, but he's not alone. Pre-Rayne Fluff


**A/N: Just jumped on the Rayne Ship and must say I went from "awww to aw yeah!" in a matter of hours yesterday. I have played a similar story out in my head with different characters from different fandoms, but I kind of really like the way this one came out. I also really like Rayne because my husband-to-be is the big burly type (not 6'4" but bigger than me).**

GAWD I haven't written anything on here in forever! And all my fans are going to hate me for not updating anything else I have written, but meh.

This is a fluff, one shot. After BDM. No sexies, just cute cuddles. First Raynefic so please be kind. Tried to stay in character, and may edit this in the future.  
Working on a bigger piece with character development and so such, so this could be called a preliminary. ENJOY

The crew had supped and retired for the evening, each heading their respected ways; Mal returned to the bridge and set the course for nightly travel; Inara took to her shuttle to bathe before disrobing and heading to bed; Kaylee went down to the engine room to tinker with the new locking mechanisms on the ship, Simon following close behind with a book in hand to keep her company in the long hours of the night; Zoe went to her quarters, surrounded by her departed love's disorganized toys and her organized desk of maps and charts and her medical papers from Simon; River stayed in the galley to finish up dishes and lastly Jayne stumbled down to the cargo bay for his nightly workout.

The Reader traced the lines on each plate, trying her best to shut out the thoughts of her crew to not much avail. She began to hum a soft tune as she finished putting away the cutlery and disposed of the leftover food. At this time, Mal had already been down to the engine room to tell Kaylee to put Serenity in idle. She did so and the lights flickered a moment before turning to dim, and the silence of the ship was broken by an exasperated "Gorramit" from the cargo bay as the lights dimmed too much for the merc to finish his routine.

Jayne liked his routine: eat, work, eat, work, sleep. It was simple, and distracted him from his thoughts. It had been a few months since their encounted with the Operative, and Jayne missed his fallen comrades more than even he himself cared to admit. But she knew. He always hated that dazed off look in her whenever their eyes met. She knew he was hurting and he hated that she could see it. She was quiet about it though. No matter what thought she gleaned from any of them, she kept them to herself. But she still knew.

The merc bumbled back up the stairs and into the hallway, feeling the walls and counting the doors until he found his room. He kicked at the hatch but it didn't budge. Jayne looked up to the see the red lock lights on all the doors lit up. Silly Kaylee must have flipped the wrong switch again. He turned around and made his way back to the galley and into the lounging area, taking a seat and leaning back on the cushions that adorned the small sofa. Unbeknowst to him, the little Reader was still in the galley as well. As Jayne got comfortable and his eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, he caught the glimpse of her lithe form standing eerily by the table, he head tilted to the side, staring at him.

"Sumthin wrong with your bunk, moon brain?" he asked in a rough drawl.

"Locked out" she simply said, almost in a whisper.

Jayne rolled his eyes and cursed Kaylee under his breath before reaching beside him and tossing some cushions and a spare blanket her way. She caught them with her elegant hands and hugged them to her before setting up a nest on the floor. The merc looked at her, his eyes nearly seeing as well as she could in the dark; the slight glimmer on her skin as the light touched it; her tussled brown hair falling softly around her face; the blanket draped over her dainty form as she clung to herself; the small smile on her face that crept up as she read his thoughts. He shook himself and grumbled before rolling over to face the wall, trying to ignore her. The merc had been locked out before, often due to spending too much time on his bench, and had spent a few nights in the lounge area before. He suspected that this may have been the first time the young girl had been locked out. Jayne heard her toss and turn as she tried to get comfortable, which only irked him more, "Gorramit girl," he grumbled into his pillow before turning to face her again to scold her, but she was asleep; curled in a ball, sweating, shivering, crying.

He blinked at her to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and sure enough, she was fast asleep, but dreaming something terrifying, causing her to writhe and whimper as the nightmare took her further. She was a deep sleeper. He had to walk by her room many times, and figured all the energy used to read thoughts was what made her look so tired all the time. Jayne sighed and silently slipped off the sofa. He pulled back the covers and made his way over to her. He reached under her light form and scooped her up in his arms, all the pillows and blankets still tucked around her as she unconsciously curled into him, and walked her back over to the couch. Gently, he set her down where he was lying, the warmth surrounding her as the shivers subsided. She moaned a bit as he slid his hands out from beneath her. She began to quake as he turned away and he stroked her cheek to calm her. When she settled, the merc grabbed his blanket and a pillow and took to the floor, grumbling to himself quietly.

The hours passed, still dark. Still night. River's eyes fluttered open as her dreams turned into thoughts. Feelings. His feelings. _Cold. Gorramit. Kaylee must have been playing with the temp too. Cold. _She rolled over and sure enough, Jayne lay on the floor with a single blanket draped over his burly frame. Though he was more than twice her size, even he was no match for the icy floor. The girl slipped out of her blankets and crawled across the floor to him. He was asleep, but still so cold, cussing under his breath as he teeth started to chatter. She looked at him, her face on level with his, and softly touched his cheek. The stubble was rough, and he was cold to the touch. But she could feel his heart beating through her fingertips. Thump-bump, thump-bump. She closed her eyes and felt the rhythm.

His eyes slowly opened to see her before him, feeling her fingers on his cheek he woke in a start and gasped a little. She shied back like a struck dog, and he cursed himself for doing so, "Don't fret none, you just spooked me, is all," he said softly, and she tilted her head at him again, confused, "Whatsa matter?" he asked quietly, "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head, "Too loud."

He clicked his tongue behind his teeth again and rolled over to face the other way. Trying to ignore her, again. He felt more blankets drape over him and a small warmth press up against his back. With one arm tucked under his head, and the other curled around himself, he looked over his shoulder to see River with his back to him, "What in blazes are you doing?!" he whispered, but very loudly.

"We'll stay warmer this way; back to back; more heat penetrates the other," she stated.

"I don't wanna hear nothin' 'bout heat or some such. Get back on the couch," he ordered, still not turning to face her entirely.

"Cold," she simply said.

"Get another blanket," he barked back.

"Not me." she said softly as she closed her eyes again. "You,"

Still looking over his shoulder, he watched her eyes flutter as she drifted to sleep. He carefully rolled over to face her, trying his best not to disturb her. Sliding his right arm under her pillow, and wrapping an arm over her, pressing his body to hers. He never truly knew how small she was, but her warmth was calming. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see him towering over her as he lay there, she was confused again and made to slide away, but he wouldn't let her, "Calm down, kiddo. I'm just getting more comfortable. I won't try anything, promise. Just stay here," he said in a soft tone, his accent thick. She read his thoughts and looked back at him, and he knew what he was thinking. He opened one eye and smiled down at her, "See?"

The night passed swiftly enough and the two lay beside one another. Just breathing.

When morning broke, Jayne found himself on the couch again, and River gone. Mal was making coffee and hardly took notice of his presence, "Locked out again?" the Captain said groggily as he poured a second cup for his crewmate.

"Yeah," the merc simply stated.

"Cold one last night," Mal said as he handed the mug to Jayne and took a seat at the table.

At the other side of the galley, little River walked passed, a small smile on her face as her eyes met his, "Not really," Jayne answered.


End file.
